Method and System for Analyzing Radio Performance During Over-the-Air Operation

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for identifying failed or suspect RF transmitting devices while the devices are in normal operation transmitting over-the-air RF signals, each of the RF transmitting devices including an identifier and being mobile, portable or stationary, includes an RF signal sensor receiving the RF signals and responsive thereto, an analyzer, and a GUI. The analyzer measuring signal parameters and determines operating characteristics of a device therefrom, determining the identifier, if each RF signal conforms to packet structure specifications, and bit-field information of each RF signal to discern therefrom a transmission type, measures RF frequency offset, correlates the bit-field information with the RF frequency offset utilizing the identifier; and repeats the last three steps to determine a range of RF frequency offset deviations over time. The GUI displays the range in a form used to identify an RF frequency offset range of the RF transmitting device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is:

-   -   a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No.        14/574,196, filed on Dec. 17, 2014;    -   a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/024,517,        filed on Sep. 11, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,948,022, issued on        Feb. 3, 2015; and    -   a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/882,193,        filed on Sep. 14, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,565,096, issued on        Oct. 22, 2013 (which application claimed priority to U.S. Patent        Application Ser. No. 61/252,693 filed on Oct. 18, 2009);        the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein        by reference in their entireties.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention lies in the field of electronic communicationsdevices. The present disclosure relates to a method and system foranalyzing radio performance during over-the-air operation.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The ability of a communications transmitting device to operate accordingto its specifications is crucial to proper communications between thetransmitting device and the receiving device. Often the user does notrealize the transmitting device is not operating according to itsspecification until it fails completely. When the device fails, it mustbe taken out of service, the problem diagnosed and the device repaired.The present invention overcomes this limitation by advising the userwhen a specification parameter is not met, although the device maycontinue to operate within the network at a degraded level.

Thus, a need exists to overcome the problems with the prior art systems,designs, and processes as discussed above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a method and system for analyzing radioperformance during over-the-air operation that overcome thehereinafore-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices andmethods of this general type.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, there is provided, inaccordance with the invention, an apparatus for identifying failed orsuspect radio-frequency (RF) transmitting devices while theradio-frequency transmitting devices are in normal operationtransmitting over-the-air RF signals, includes at least one RF signalsensor receiving the RF signals from at least one of the RF transmittingdevices, each of the RF transmitting devices including an identifier andbeing mobile, portable or stationary, the at least one RF signal sensorresponsive to the received RF signals, an analyzer measuring signalparameters of the received RF signals and determining operatingcharacteristics of at least one of the RF transmitting devices from thesignal parameters, determining the identifier within each of thereceived RF signals, determining if each of the received RF signalsconform to packet structure specifications, determining bit-fieldinformation of each of the received RF signals and discerning from thebit-field information a type of transmission that has been received fromthe at least one RF transmitting device, measuring an RF frequencyoffset of the at least one RF transmitting device, correlating thebit-field information with the RF frequency offset utilizing theidentifier, and repeatedly carrying out the bit-field informationdetermining step, the RF frequency offset measuring step and thecorrelating step to determine a range of RF frequency offset deviationsover time, and a graphical user interface displaying the range of RFfrequency offset deviations over time in a form that can be used toidentify a range of the RF frequency offset of the at least one RFtransmitting device.

In accordance with another feature of the invention, the analyzerutilizes the range of RF frequency offset deviations to repair the atleast one RF transmitting device.

In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the analyzerutilizes the range of RF frequency offset deviations to generate andsend e-mail alerts to users and system operators to repair the at leastone RF transmitting device.

In accordance with an added feature of the invention, the analyzerutilizes the range of RF frequency offset deviations to clear the atleast one RF transmitting device of all recorded performancemeasurements and events to restart a collection and evaluation processfor the at least one RF transmitting device.

In accordance with an additional feature of the invention, the at leastone RF transmitting device contains lists and has data reportingrequirements and the analyzer utilizes the range of RF frequency offsetdeviations to define the contents of any one of the lists and/or thedata reporting requirements.

In accordance with yet another feature of the invention, the identifieris at least one of a radio serial number and a radio ID.

In accordance with yet a further feature of the invention, the analyzeruses the identifier from the received RF signals to correlate operatingcharacteristics to a particular one of the transmitting devices.

In accordance with yet an added feature of the invention, the analyzercollects operating characteristics for identified transmitting devicesmore frequently than operating characteristics for other transmittingdevices.

In accordance with yet an additional feature of the invention, thegraphical user interface displays the operating characteristics for eachtransmitting device.

In accordance with again another feature of the invention, the analyzerdetermines RF frequency characteristics of the received RF signals fromthe at least one transmitting device, determines the respectiveidentifier of the at least one transmitting device from the received RFsignals, and uses the identifier from the received RF signals tocorrelate at least one of the RF frequency characteristics and thebit-field information of the particular one of the transmitting devices,and the graphical user interface displays at least one of the RFfrequency characteristics and the bit-field information in a form thatcan be used to identify transmitting devices that have failed andtransmitting devices that are suspect.

In accordance with again a further feature of the invention, the RFfrequency characteristics are selected from RF frequency accuracy of thereceived RF signals, RF frequency offset of the received RF signals, atiming of a RF frequency offset of the received RF signals, a RFfrequency offset of the received RF signals relative to a beginning of amessage, a RF frequency offset of the received RF signals throughout amessage, a frequency deviation of the received RF signals, a range offrequency deviations of the received RF signals over time; and/or amaximum frequency deviation of the received RF signals, the analyzeruses the identifier from the received RF signals to correlate the RFfrequency characteristics to the particular one of the transmittingdevices, and the graphical user interface displays the RF frequencycharacteristics in a form that can be used to identify transmittingdevices that have failed and transmitting devices that are suspect.

In accordance with again an added feature of the invention, the analyzermeasures signal parameters of received RF signals and determinesoperating characteristics of the transmitting devices from the signalparameters and uses the identifier from the received RF signals tocorrelate the operating characteristics to the particular one of thetransmitting devices.

In accordance with again an additional feature of the invention, thegraphical user interface displays the operating characteristics for eachtransmitting device.

In accordance with still another feature of the invention, the analyzerfurther determines transmitting devices satisfying predefined operatingthresholds, transmitting devices satisfying specifications applicable tothe transmitting device, suspect transmitting devices, transmittingdevices transmitting a signal having an RSSI below a predeterminedthreshold, transmitting devices transmitting a signal having an RSSIbelow the specification applicable to the transmitting device,transmitting devices having an insufficient number of transmissions fromwhich to determine operating characteristics of the transmitting device,transmitting devices not in regular use, and/or transmitting devicereports according to user-defined topics.

In accordance with still a further feature of the invention, the signalparameters comprise at least one of RF frequency accuracy, RF frequencyoffset from an assigned frequency, timing of RF frequency offsetsrelative to a beginning of a message transmission, RF frequency offsetvariations throughout a message transmission, frequency deviation of themodulated signal, range of frequency deviations over time, amplitudevariations during a message transmission, symbol frequency error, symbolclock error, modulation fidelity, bit error rate, conformance to packetstructure specifications, baud rate changes during a messagetransmission, spurious emissions, RSSI, consistent low power levelirrespective of location of the transmitting device, high bit error rateirrespective of location of the transmitting device, battery charge, anumber of retries over a predetermined threshold, and unexpectedly lowRSSI.

In accordance with still an added feature of the invention, the analyzercomprises a storage time parameter identifying a period of time forstoring the operating characteristics and a data collection frequencyparameter identifying a frequency at which the operating characteristicsare determined, the analyzer includes a list of the identifiers oftransmitting devices for which signal parameters are to be determined,and frequency of monitoring and analyzing the signal parameters isuser-defined for each transmitting device.

In accordance with still an additional feature of the invention, thetransmitting device comprises a transmitting device operating in atrunked radio network, the analyzer monitors at least one of a requestfrom the transmitting device to a network controller for an inboundchannel, a message from the network controller advising the transmittingdevice of an assigned inbound channel, and an inbound channel carryingtransmissions from the transmitting device, the analyzer operates inconjunction with a location-determining system determining a location ofthe transmitting devices in the trunked radio network, and the analyzeradvises the location-determining system of the performance of thetransmitting devices in the trunked radio network.

In accordance with another feature of the invention, the transmittingdevice comprises a mobile or portable transmitting device or a mobile orportable transceiver and the transmitting device is operative in acommunications network selected from at least one of a WiFi network, atrunked transmitting device network, a cellular telephone network, apaging network, a WiMax network, an 802.11x network, and a Zigbeenetwork.

In accordance with another feature of the invention, the at least one RFsignal sensor comprises at least one antenna, a receiver, a digitalsignal processor, a precision oscillator and a general purpose processorcooperating to measure signal parameters of the RF signals from whichthe operating characteristics of the transmitting device are determined.

In accordance with still another feature of the invention, the analyzerdetermines a “health” of at least one of the transmitting devices bycomparing the operating characteristics of the at least one transmittingdevice with performance specifications for the at least one transmittingdevice and/or governmental regulations applicable to performance of theat least one transmitting device.

In accordance with a concomitant feature of the invention, there isprovided a database storing information related to the operatingcharacteristics, the information comprising one or more of statisticsrelated to the operating characteristics for a transmitting device, pastrepair dates for a transmitting device, transmitting devices for whichno operating characteristics have been determined, and user-definedinformation, storing at least one of the RF frequency characteristicsand the bit-field information, and from which the operatingcharacteristics and the at least one of the RF frequency characteristicsand the bit-field information for a transmitting device are deletedafter the transmitting device is repaired.

Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodiedin a method and system for analyzing radio performance duringover-the-air operation, it is, nevertheless, not intended to be limitedto the details shown because various modifications and structuralchanges may be made therein without departing from the spirit of theinvention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.Additionally, well-known elements of exemplary embodiments of theinvention will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as notto obscure the relevant details of the invention.

Additional advantages and other features characteristic of the presentinvention will be set forth in the detailed description that follows andmay be apparent from the detailed description or may be learned bypractice of exemplary embodiments of the invention. Still otheradvantages of the invention may be realized by any of theinstrumentalities, methods, or combinations particularly pointed out inthe claims.

Other features that are considered as characteristic for the inventionare set forth in the appended claims. As required, detailed embodimentsof the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to beunderstood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of theinvention, which can be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specificstructural and functional details disclosed herein are not to beinterpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as arepresentative basis for teaching one of ordinary skill in the art tovariously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriatelydetailed structure. Further, the terms and phrases used herein are notintended to be limiting; but rather, to provide an understandabledescription of the invention. While the specification concludes withclaims defining the features of the invention that are regarded asnovel, it is believed that the invention will be better understood froma consideration of the following description in conjunction with thedrawing figures, in which like reference numerals are carried forward.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying figures, where like reference numerals refer toidentical or functionally similar elements throughout the separateviews, which are not true to scale, and which, together with thedetailed description below, are incorporated in and form part of thespecification, serve to illustrate further various embodiments and toexplain various principles and advantages all in accordance with thepresent invention. Advantages of embodiments of the present inventionwill be apparent from the following detailed description of theexemplary embodiments thereof, which description should be considered inconjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

The FIGURE is a block diagram of the system of the present invention.

In accordance with common practice, the various described features arenot drawn to scale, but are drawn to emphasize specific featuresrelevant to the invention Like reference characters denote like elementsthroughout the figures and text.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosedherein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodimentsare merely exemplary of the invention, which can be embodied in variousforms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosedherein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis forthe claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in theart to variously employ the present invention in virtually anyappropriately detailed structure. Further, the terms and phrases usedherein are not intended to be limiting; but rather, to provide anunderstandable description of the invention. While the specificationconcludes with claims defining the features of the invention that areregarded as novel, it is believed that the invention will be betterunderstood from a consideration of the following description inconjunction with the drawing figures, in which like reference numeralsare carried forward.

Alternate embodiments may be devised without departing from the spiritor the scope of the invention. Additionally, well-known elements ofexemplary embodiments of the invention will not be described in detailor will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of theinvention.

Before the present invention is disclosed and described, it is to beunderstood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose ofdescribing particular embodiments only and is not intended to belimiting. The terms “a” or “an”, as used herein, are defined as one ormore than one. The term “plurality,” as used herein, is defined as twoor more than two. The term “another,” as used herein, is defined as atleast a second or more. The terms “including” and/or “having,” as usedherein, are defined as comprising (i.e., open language). The term“coupled,” as used herein, is defined as connected, although notnecessarily directly, and not necessarily mechanically.

Relational terms such as first and second, top and bottom, and the likemay be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from anotherentity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actualsuch relationship or order between such entities or actions. The terms“comprises,” “comprising,” or any other variation thereof are intendedto cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method,article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not includeonly those elements but may include other elements not expressly listedor inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. An elementproceeded by “comprises . . . a” does not, without more constraints,preclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process,method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.

As used herein, the term “about” or “approximately” applies to allnumeric values, whether or not explicitly indicated. These termsgenerally refer to a range of numbers that one of skill in the art wouldconsider equivalent to the recited values (i.e., having the samefunction or result). In many instances these terms may include numbersthat are rounded to the nearest significant FIGURE.

The terms “program,” “software,” “software application,” and the like asused herein, are defined as a sequence of instructions designed forexecution on a computer system. A “program,” “software,” “application,”“computer program,” or “software application” may include a subroutine,a function, a procedure, an object method, an object implementation, anexecutable application, an applet, a servlet, a source code, an objectcode, a shared library/dynamic load library and/or other sequence ofinstructions designed for execution on a computer system.

Herein various embodiments of the present invention are described. Inmany of the different embodiments, features are similar. Therefore, toavoid redundancy, repetitive description of these similar features maynot be made in some circumstances. It shall be understood, however, thatdescription of a first-appearing feature applies to the later describedsimilar feature and each respective description, therefore, is to beincorporated therein without such repetition.

Before describing in detail the particular method and system foranalyzing performance of a radio or transmitting device duringover-the-air operation according to the present invention, it should beobserved that the present invention resides in a novel and non-obviouscombination of structural elements and method steps. Accordingly, theseelements have been represented by conventional elements and steps in thedrawings and specification. The elements and process stepsconventionally known in the art are described in lesser detail, andelements and steps pertinent to understanding the invention aredescribed in greater detail. The following preferred embodiments are anapplication of the present invention and are not intended to definelimits of the structure or use of the invention, but only to provideexemplary constructions. Many variations can be made to the designwithin the scope of the presented claims.

The present invention determines the “health” of a transmitting device(e.g., a mobile, portable or stationary transmitter or transceiver) thatemits a radio frequency signal for receiving by a receiving device(e.g., a receiver, a transceiver), including transmitting and receivingdevices operating in a network. The network may include, but is notlimited to, a WiFi network, a trunked radio network, a cellulartelephone network, a paging network, a WiMax network, an 802.11x networkand a Zigbee network. The teachings of the invention can be applied totransmitting and receiving devices operating in digital and analognetworks (where the analog networks include such devices as conventionaltwo-way radios and AM or FM transmitters).

The “health” of each device, which is important to ensure that a usercan effectively communicate with others in the network, is determinedwhile the device is in an over-the-air operating mode. Bench tests fortransmitting devices are known in the repair art. Unlike the known art,the present invention does not require removing the device from activeservice to evaluate the “health” of the device. Instead, the presentinvention allows a network operator or a device user to assess the“health” of the device during normal operation.

When used in the present application, the “health” of a device refers toits performance in accordance with applicable performance specificationsas determined by the device manufacturer or as determined by the user ornetwork provider. That is, the network provider may require tightertolerances for certain operational parameters due to the characteristicsof its network.

A failed component or other element of the device may degrade itsperformance and/or cause its parameters to vary from the specificationvalues. A significant degradation or a significant variation from thespecification may prevent the device from communicating with otherdevices on the network. According to the present invention, thetransmitting devices are tested during over-the-air operation and anyvariance from the applicable specifications is identified. The devicecan then be removed from service for repair.

As used herein the term “radio” refers to any transceiver (ortransmitter) transmitting or transmitting and receiving RF signals.Mobile and portable transceivers used in public safety trunked networksare commonly referred to as radios.

One application of the present invention applies to radios operating ina trunked radio system that includes a location-determining subsystemfor determining the location of any transmitting radio. In thisapplication, the “health” of each radio is important to accuratelylocate the radio and its operator.

The teachings of the invention can be employed by a network operator todetermine the “health” of transmitting devices operating within itsnetwork or the “health” of a transmitting device can be determinedirrespective of any network in which the transmitting device operates.Use of the system of the invention can identify incipient and real-timetransmitting device problems to reduce both transmitting device andnetwork downtime, improve the “health” of the network, increase networkcapacity and improve other aspects of network performance (e.g.,location accuracy for a transmitting device operating in aradio-location system).

To identify incipient problems, the user (or network operator) can set arelatively tight tolerance for transmitting device operation; anyperformance parameters outside this range, while not indicative of afailure, may be evidence of a potential problem. Thus parameters outsidethe user-defined range may trigger an incipient problem alert.

The invention can also determine whether a transmitting device isoperating according to pertinent regulations promulgated by a regulatoryagency, such as the U.S. Federal Communication Commission or similarregulatory agencies of other countries. These regulations dictate theoperating requirements of both licensed and unlicensed transmittingdevices. The invention can also determine if a transmitting deviceoperates within its published specifications, apart from any applicablegovernment regulations.

The system and method of the present invention (commercially referred toas a DiagnostX System) is a field diagnostic tool that verifies and/ordetermines the “health” of transmitting devices using over-the-airtransmissions from the transmitting devices. For example, when a radioin a trunked radio network transmits (on an inbound channel), a requestfor a working channel (i.e., the channel or frequency for carrying asubsequent communication with another radio in the network) to a networkcontroller, the system of the invention captures the transmittedwaveform on the inbound channel and analyzes the waveform for possiblefailures, problems or out-of-spec parameters. The system can also listento the outbound control channel (over which the radio is advised to aworking channel by the network controller) and follow the radio to itsassigned working channel to capture and analyze working channeltransmissions.

The system of the present invention captures inbound and outboundcontrol channel signals and working channel signals to measureoperational characteristics of the radio when operating in atransmitting mode and to detect potential radio transmission problems.The trunked radio system operator can remove the radio from service forrepair or undertake other maintenance actions as deemed advisable. Thesignal measurement and analysis features of the invention are intendedto reduce radio failures in the field and to identify suspect radiosbefore they fail. When used in conjunction with a location-determiningsystem, the present invention also improves the accuracy of thedetermined locations by ensuring that each radio is operating accordingto its specifications. As applied to the trunked radio system, a betteroperating radio can also reduce the number of control channel retriesand therefore increase the system throughput or capacity.

Generally, one parameter determined by the system of the invention is areceived signal strength indicator (RSSI) value. This value must exceeda minimum RSSI to permit meaningful analysis of the signal parametersand transmitter operating characteristics as determined by the presentinvention. In one embodiment the minimum value is −95 dBm. Signals withRSSI values less than −95 dBm can be ignored or if analyzed can benotated with an indication that the RSSI value was below the requiredminimum value.

To set up the radio diagnostic system, an identifier for each radio isentered into the database. The operating characteristics or parametersare also entered manually or selected from a presented menu. Thesespecifications for individual radios are determined by the operating forthat radio, e.g., transmission type, protocol type. For example, eachprotocol may have a different specification and a different range ofpermitted deviations from that specification. Further, a firstspecification range may be established to identify potential problemradios. An operational parameter within the first range indicates asuspect radio. A second specification range may be established toidentify failed radios. An operational parameter within the second rangeindicates a failed radio that should be immediately removed from servicefor repair.

Described now are exemplary embodiments of the present invention.Referring now to the FIGURE of the drawing in detail and, in particular,to FIG. 1, there is shown a block diagram of a first exemplaryembodiment of the system of the invention. The system includes one ormore signal sensors (referred to as a DSP and DiagnostX Manager (DM) inthe FIGURE) 12 that receive RF signals from transmitting radios 14 andmeasures characteristics of the signal to extract desired operationalmetrics or operating characteristics of that radio. In one embodiment ofthe invention, each receiving site or sensor in a network employs atleast one directional antenna or a plurality of antennas that providediversity reception and may thereby increase a signal strength of areceived signal. Each sensor further includes, in an addition to the atleast one antenna, a receiver, a digital signal processor, a precisionoscillator and a general purpose processor. These devices cooperate,under control of the processor, to measure various signal parameters ofthe transmitted signal as required to extract the transmitter operatingcharacteristics, as identified below.

An identifier associated with each radio and included in each signaltransmitted by that radio is used to link the determined transmitteroperating characteristics to the transmitting radio.

A database 20 stores the radio identifiers for radios to be monitored(and in one embodiment a list of identifiers for radios that are not tobe monitored). The database 20 stores the pertinent specifications,desired operating characteristics and specifications ranges for eachradio. The database also stores the actual operating characteristics foreach radio, where the actual operating characteristics are determinedfrom the signals transmitted from the pertinent radio as those signalsare received and analyzed by the system of the present invention.

The sensor measurements are input to a DiagnostX Analyzer (DA) 18 thatperforms calculations and determines whether the signal measurementsindicate that one or more operating characteristics of the radio exceedthe pertinent specification ranges for that radio. When certain rangesare exceeded the radio may be flagged as suspect and when other rangesare exceeded this may warrant flagging the radio as failed.

Results from the DA 18 are displayed on a graphical user interface (GUI)22 under control of a DiagnostX Viewer (DV) 26 that pulls data for theGUI 22 from the DA 18 and the database 20. For example, the GUI 22 maydisplay a radio identifier and signal measurements associated with theidentified radio. The system can also identify (highlight) and displaypertinent information for any radio with potential or incipientproblems, including a general textual description of the problem.

From the DA 18, the analysis results are also stored in the database 20for later retrieval and/or additional analysis. The database 20 can besearched by radio identification number to retrieve performance data forselected radios.

After a radio has been repaired, the collected performance parameterscan be cleared from the database 20 as they are no longer relevant afterradio repair.

The system can also target specific radios for additional and moredetailed over-the-air or bench analysis. Such radios can also beidentified in the database 20. In one embodiment, performance data forthe targeted radios can be collected more frequently than the otherradios in the database.

The system generates, displays, and prints numerous reports includingbut not limited to:

-   -   Good radios, i.e., those that satisfy predefined operating        thresholds or satisfy associated specifications    -   Suspect radios as determined from standard industry conformance        testing and operational specifications.    -   Radios emitting a weak signal, where weak is defined as an RSSI        below a predetermined threshold or below the specification for        the associated radio.    -   Radios with an insufficient number of transmissions to permit an        accurate determination of the radio's health.    -   Radios not in regular use    -   Other reports according to user-defined subject matter    -   Waveform visualization    -   Bit-field visualization (i.e. a packet sniffer)

An analysis of the received signal and its waveform provides informationon the operational aspects of each radio, including but not limited tothe following operational attributes.

-   -   RF frequency accuracy    -   RF frequency offset (i.e., offset from an assigned frequency)    -   Timing of RF frequency offsets relative to a beginning of a        message    -   RF frequency offset variations throughout a message    -   Frequency deviation of the modulated signal (i.e., the        difference between the center frequency of the received signal        and the modulated frequency)    -   Range of frequency deviations over time    -   Maximum frequency deviation    -   Unexpected amplitude variations during a message    -   Symbol Frequency Error    -   Symbol Clock Error    -   Modulation Fidelity    -   Bit Error Rate    -   Conformance to packet structure specifications    -   Baud rate changes during a message    -   Spurious emissions    -   Received signal strength indicator (RSSI)    -   Consistent low power level irrespective of radio location    -   High bit error rate irrespective of radio location    -   Battery charge    -   Probable emission mask non compliance    -   Communication retries that exceed a user-defined threshold (as        applied to a trunked network). This parameter can also be        determined with respect to a specific receiving site in a        trunked network, i.e., whether a specific site on the network is        experiencing a substantial number of retries.    -   An unexpectedly low received signal strength based on the        location of the radio and the location of the receiving sensor

To assist with the analysis of each radio, the operator can definedifferent operational metric thresholds (e.g., frequency offset,frequency deviation) for one or more radios by reference to the radioidentifier. This feature thus allows different thresholds to beestablished for different radios in the network. The system can alsorank the radios from those with the best performance to those with theworst.

A radio exhibiting an operating measurement that exceeds a threshold isindicated on the GUI 22. These radios may be classified as suspect orfailed. In one embodiment the number of analyzed transmissions and thetime period over which the data is collected must satisfy minimumthresholds before the radio can be identified as suspect or failed.

The system operator can also determine and configure the system with thelength of time the historical operational data is stored (e.g., astorage time parameter such as last year, last six months, etc.), thefrequency at which the performance data is collected (e.g., one dailyperformance snapshot, weekly, monthly) and the performance data measuredduring each snapshot.

The system can generate and send e-mail alerts to users and systemoperators. For example, each morning an email listing the worstperforming or suspect radios can be sent to system operators or to theuser of each listed transmitting device. The users of the listed radiosand the system operators should consider these radios when communicatingwith or trying to locate any of the listed radios. The alert criteriaare also user-defined (e.g., frequency of emails, email distributionlist).

If the system operator is interested in the performance of only a subsetof the radios, the operator generates a list of the radios andconfigures the system to monitor the performance of only the listedradios.

The system can also store and display:

-   -   A minimum RSSI threshold (e.g., −95 dBm or greater) before        operational data is collected    -   A median calculation on the collected data to statistically        eliminate any outliers for a radio.    -   Radio repair dates tied to a radio identifier (preferably a        radio serial number or another unique radio identifier). A        repair technician enters the radio identifier into the system        before beginning the repair and a system-generated date is used        as the repair date. When a repair date is entered the historical        performance data and all radio transmissions are cleared    -   A suspect radio can be cleared of all recorded performance        measurements and events to restart the collection and evaluation        process for the radio. The system-generated date/time is used as        the “clear” date    -   Store the previous n performance data measurements for every        radio    -   Maintain lists and pertinent data that indicate the health of        each radio according to the parameters that the user or system        operator defines for a suspect, failed and a properly operating        radio. For example, the lists can indicate a radio always        transmitting signals below a user-defined RSSI threshold, above        a user-defined threshold but based on fewer than n measurements,        and a subjective judgment as to the radio's health (e.g., good        or suspect) and the metrics on which the judgment is based. The        user or system operator can also define the contents of any list        and data reporting requirements for any radio.    -   Generate or use an operator-provided list of radio        identification information that identifies radios for which        performance data has not been collected    -   Ensure the radios meet FCC mandated performance requirements    -   Install software updates or synthetic instrumentation via an        Internet connection or manually from a CD or USB drive

When a signal from a radio is detected (referred to as an event), radioidentification information, date and time information, and measuredoperational characteristics for that radio are determined and stored.The operational parameters are analyzed to determine the “health” of theradio. Tracking the time the event is recorded allows the system totime-align events if multiple sensors are used to record the radioperformance data.

The system can track radios by serial number, radio ID, or anotherunique identifier. This is useful in systems where radios arereconfigured with different identifiers because it allows all historicalperformance information to link to the same physical radio.

In one embodiment, after a location of the radio is determined, by aradio-location system separate from the diagnosis system of theinvention, the RSSI value can be used as one parameter to assess the“health” of the radio. Other parameters that are location-dependent canalso be used once the location has been determined.

Although the invention has been shown and described with respect to acertain preferred embodiment or embodiments, it is obvious thatequivalent alterations and modifications will occur to others skilled inthe art upon the reading and understanding this specification and theannexed drawing. In particular regard to the various functions performedby the above described components (assemblies, devices, circuits, etc.),the terms used to describe such components are intended to correspond,unless otherwise indicated, to any component that performs the specifiedfunction of the described component (i.e., that is functionallyequivalent), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosedstructure that performs the function in the illustrated exemplaryembodiments of the invention. In addition, while a particular feature ofthe invention may have been disclosed with respect to only one ofseveral embodiments, such feature may be combined with one or more otherfeatures of the other embodiments as may be desired and advantageous forany given or particular application.

It is noted that various individual features of the inventive processesand systems may be described only in one exemplary embodiment herein.The particular choice for description herein with regard to a singleexemplary embodiment is not to be taken as a limitation that theparticular feature is only applicable to the embodiment in which it isdescribed. All features described herein are equally applicable to,additive, or interchangeable with any or all of the other exemplaryembodiments described herein and in any combination or grouping orarrangement. In particular, use of a single reference numeral herein toillustrate, define, or describe a particular feature does not mean thatthe feature cannot be associated or equated to another feature inanother drawing FIGURE or description. Further, where two or morereference numerals are used in the figures or in the drawings, thisshould not be construed as being limited to only those embodiments orfeatures, they are equally applicable to similar features or not areference numeral is used or another reference numeral is omitted.

The foregoing description and accompanying drawings illustrate theprinciples, exemplary embodiments, and modes of operation of theinvention. However, the invention should not be construed as beinglimited to the particular embodiments discussed above. Additionalvariations of the embodiments discussed above will be appreciated bythose skilled in the art and the above-described embodiments should beregarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Accordingly, it shouldbe appreciated that variations to those embodiments can be made by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention asdefined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for identifying failed or suspectradio-frequency (RF) transmitting devices while the RF transmittingdevices are in normal operation transmitting over-the-air RF signals,the apparatus comprising: at least one RF signal sensor receiving the RFsignals from at least one of the RF transmitting devices, each of the RFtransmitting devices including an identifier and being mobile, portableor stationary, the at least one RF signal sensor responsive to thereceived RF signals; an analyzer: measuring signal parameters of thereceived RF signals and determining operating characteristics of atleast one of the RF transmitting devices from the signal parameters;determining the identifier within each of the received RF signals;determining if each of the received RF signals conform to packetstructure specifications; determining bit-field information of each ofthe received RF signals and discerning from the bit-field information atype of transmission that has been received from the at least one RFtransmitting device; measuring an RF frequency offset of the at leastone RF transmitting device; correlating the bit-field information withthe RF frequency offset utilizing the identifier; and repeatedlycarrying out the bit-field information determining step, the RFfrequency offset measuring step and the correlating step to determine arange of RF frequency offset deviations over time; and a graphical userinterface displaying the range of RF frequency offset deviations overtime in a form that can be used to identify a range of the RF frequencyoffset of the at least one RF transmitting device.
 2. The apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the analyzer utilizes the range of RFfrequency offset deviations to repair the at least one RF transmittingdevice.
 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the analyzerutilizes the range of RF frequency offset deviations to generate andsend e-mail alerts to users and system operators to repair the at leastone RF transmitting device.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the analyzer utilizes the range of RF frequency offsetdeviations to clear the at least one RF transmitting device of allrecorded performance measurements and events to restart a collection andevaluation process for the at least one RF transmitting device.
 5. Theapparatus according to claim 1, wherein: the at least one RFtransmitting device contains lists and has data reporting requirements;and the analyzer utilizes the range of RF frequency offset deviations todefine at least one of: the contents of any one of the lists; and thedata reporting requirements.
 6. The apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the identifier is at least one of a radio serial number and aradio ID.
 7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the analyzeruses the identifier from the received RF signals to correlate operatingcharacteristics to a particular one of the transmitting devices.
 8. Theapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the analyzer collects operatingcharacteristics for identified transmitting devices more frequently thanoperating characteristics for other transmitting devices.
 9. Theapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the graphical user interfacedisplays the operating characteristics for each transmitting device. 10.The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: the analyzer: determines RFfrequency characteristics of the received RF signals from the at leastone transmitting device; determines the respective identifier of the atleast one transmitting device from the received RF signals; and uses theidentifier from the received RF signals to correlate at least one of theRF frequency characteristics and the bit-field information of theparticular one of the transmitting devices; and the graphical userinterface displays at least one of the RF frequency characteristics andthe bit-field information in a form that can be used to identifytransmitting devices that have failed and transmitting devices that aresuspect.
 11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein: the RFfrequency characteristics are selected from at least one of: RFfrequency accuracy of the received RF signals; RF frequency offset ofthe received RF signals; a timing of a RF frequency offset of thereceived RF signals; a RF frequency offset of the received RF signalsrelative to a beginning of a message; a RF frequency offset of thereceived RF signals throughout a message; a frequency deviation of thereceived RF signals; a range of frequency deviations of the received RFsignals over time; and a maximum frequency deviation of the received RFsignals; the analyzer uses the identifier from the received RF signalsto correlate the RF frequency characteristics to the particular one ofthe transmitting devices; and the graphical user interface displays theRF frequency characteristics in a form that can be used to identifytransmitting devices that have failed and transmitting devices that aresuspect.
 12. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the analyzer:measures signal parameters of received RF signals and determinesoperating characteristics of the transmitting devices from the signalparameters; and uses the identifier from the received RF signals tocorrelate the operating characteristics to the particular one of thetransmitting devices.
 13. The apparatus according to claim 12, whereinthe graphical user interface displays the operating characteristics foreach transmitting device.
 14. The apparatus according to claim 12,wherein the analyzer further determines one or more: transmittingdevices satisfying predefined operating thresholds; transmitting devicessatisfying specifications applicable to the transmitting device; suspecttransmitting devices; transmitting devices transmitting a signal havingan RSSI below a predetermined threshold; transmitting devicestransmitting a signal having an RSSI below the specification applicableto the transmitting device; transmitting devices having an insufficientnumber of transmissions from which to determine operatingcharacteristics of the transmitting device; transmitting devices not inregular use; and transmitting device reports according to user-definedtopics.
 15. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the signalparameters comprise at least one of RF frequency accuracy, RF frequencyoffset from an assigned frequency, timing of RF frequency offsetsrelative to a beginning of a message transmission, RF frequency offsetvariations throughout a message transmission, frequency deviation of themodulated signal, range of frequency deviations over time, amplitudevariations during a message transmission, symbol frequency error, symbolclock error, modulation fidelity, bit error rate, conformance to packetstructure specifications, baud rate changes during a messagetransmission, spurious emissions, RSSI, consistent low power levelirrespective of location of the transmitting device, high bit error rateirrespective of location of the transmitting device, battery charge, anumber of retries over a predetermined threshold, and unexpectedly lowRSSI.
 16. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein: the analyzercomprises: a storage time parameter identifying a period of time forstoring the operating characteristics; and a data collection frequencyparameter identifying a frequency at which the operating characteristicsare determined; the analyzer includes a list of the identifiers oftransmitting devices for which signal parameters are to be determined;and frequency of monitoring and analyzing the signal parameters isuser-defined for each transmitting device.
 17. The apparatus accordingto claim 12, wherein: the transmitting device comprises a transmittingdevice operating in a trunked radio network; the analyzer monitors atleast one of a request from the transmitting device to a networkcontroller for an inbound channel, a message from the network controlleradvising the transmitting device of an assigned inbound channel, and aninbound channel carrying transmissions from the transmitting device; theanalyzer operates in conjunction with a location-determining systemdetermining a location of the transmitting devices in the trunked radionetwork; and the analyzer advises the location-determining system of theperformance of the transmitting devices in the trunked radio network.18. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein: the transmittingdevice comprises a mobile or portable transmitting device or a mobile orportable transceiver; and the transmitting device is operative in acommunications network selected from at least one of a WiFi network, atrunked transmitting device network, a cellular telephone network, apaging network, a WiMax network, an 802.11x network, and a Zigbeenetwork.
 19. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the at leastone RF signal sensor comprises at least one antenna, a receiver, adigital signal processor, a precision oscillator and a general purposeprocessor cooperating to measure signal parameters of the RF signalsfrom which the operating characteristics of the transmitting device aredetermined.
 20. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein theanalyzer determines a “health” of at least one of the transmittingdevices by comparing the operating characteristics of the at least onetransmitting device with at least one of: performance specifications forthe at least one transmitting device; and governmental regulationsapplicable to performance of the at least one transmitting device. 21.The apparatus according to claim 12, which further comprises a database:storing information related to the operating characteristics, theinformation comprising one or more of statistics related to theoperating characteristics for a transmitting device, past repair datesfor a transmitting device, transmitting devices for which no operatingcharacteristics have been determined, and user-defined information;storing at least one of the RF frequency characteristics and thebit-field information; and from which the operating characteristics andthe at least one of the RF frequency characteristics and the bit-fieldinformation for a transmitting device are deleted after the transmittingdevice is repaired.